The Shepard Sisters - Saving a Galaxy
by ShepardGirls13
Summary: Veronica Shepard grew up on Earth an orphan, but she wasn't alone. She adopted a little sister named Claire. The two of them cling to each other in the chaos of the Galaxy. Dealing with Collectors, Cerebrus, loves lost, loved gained, and the impending end of the Galaxy from the Reapers would be a piece of cake, right? Shakarian, Claire Thane later. Warning: Smut, Angst, Shenanigans
1. Prologue - Shepard Origin

[[This was written by my best friend and I, both avid Mass Effect Fans. My version of Shepard is mine and Claire is hers. I'll put her name in the foreword of a chapter once she makes an account. We hope you like it. Bioware owns the Mass Effect universe and any characters that are not our Original additions.]]

It had taken Veronica days to get the apartment together, getting her military pay cycled in for rent. She didn't need much money for supplies; the Alliance was going to make sure she was well taken care of and she'd have a roof over her head. It was Claire that she worried about. The age difference between them had always made her protective of Claire. She'd been looking out for her for years, and signing up for the marines was partially to look out for her "baby sister" Claire.

The gangs of Earth were starting to get too rough to try and raise a young teenager, and she needed a more dependable income. The Alliance didn't care that she was an orphaned punk with little education; her scores on the test were phenomenal. She had asked for her first paycheck in advance, and the only reason they had agreed was because of a Captain that had been in the recruiting office heard her say why. To take care of her baby sister.

David Anderson. Bless that man, wherever he was now. She opened the curtain in the living room and let the light shine in for a moment. She had paid the rent for three months, which was approximately how long it would take for her to graduate from basic training. Once she got to the trade school, she'd be able to talk a bit more freely and carefully regulate the money. She loved her little sister, but she knew that Claire was more likely to buy parts for mods than remember to eat.

Holding back a laugh, she put a sheet over the cheap couch she bought and went into the hallway. Both bedrooms had futons for beds for the time being. It was nothing major, just enough for them to sleep. The bathroom was fully stocked with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a detangler(for Claire), and a few different hair brushes, two toothbrushes, and some toothpaste. Sadly, the only things in the kitchen were canned goods. She'd leave some money in the account that Claire could access for other kinds of food.

Veronica stepped into the bathroom and sighed, brushing a strand of long red hair out of her face. It had always reminded her of blood; it seemed only fitting that now she might actually get blood in it. Anxiety was spiking in her though, she was leaving tomorrow and their friend Jen was supposed to bring Claire over tonight. Jen had been a lifesaver when they needed somewhere to stay that was away from the gangs. Eventually, she'd have to pay her back.

The knock on the door nearly made her jump, but she spun around and walked to the door as she fiddled with the lock. A lock! It was such a small thing that meant they would both be safe from now on. She wouldn't have to worry about anyone stealing from them or about people taking the spot they camped in for the evening. They'd been worried about those details for ages now; six years to be exact. To this day she still didn't know why the six year old Claire had followed her when she'd run away from the orphanage, but they were family now. No matter what.

Veronica opened the door and smiled at the two people standing there. Jen was about twenty or so and had brown hair, golden eyes, and dressed rather plainly. Function over fashion seemed to be her style, and it suited her mom-like demeanor. Most of Veronica's attention was on the twelve year old girl next to her, scrutinizing everything with pale blue eyes. Her hair stood up in different directions, frizzed out and practically platinum blonde. The curls were hard to manage, and Shepard had wanted to make a fresh start by trying a few different kinds of brushes for the bathroom. She honestly didn't know what kind of brush would help manage that hair.

"Hey Claire. I got a surprise for you." She said brightly, gesturing for her to come in. "I'll see you in the morning Jenna, right?" She was still nervous that she'd get screwed over by someone, despite all Jen had done for them both. If anything stopped her from going to the military, she'd be charged with going AWOL, get arrested and leave Claire alone.

"Bright and early. We'll get everything squared away," Jen said brightly and waved to Claire before she went down the hallway back towards the elevator.

Claire looked up at Veronica as she walked into the apartment, hands tucked into the pockets of her jeans. She was skinny, with patches and rips in her clothes. "Not much here, V. Are we meeting a job here?"

Veronica cringed, hating that her first thought was of an illegal rendezvous with the gangs. She was too young to have seen this much. If Veronica could have joined up with the Alliance sooner, she would have to spare her. "No, Claire. It's home. I...I signed up with the Alliance to give us a home. It's not much yet, but it's paid up for awhile. My pay will cycle into the rent to make sure that we don't get evicted and that the power will stay on. It's not much...but it's something, right?"

Claire nodded thoughtfully and started to walk into the living room, following Veronica. She was ruffling her own deep red colored locks and watching her right back. Claire was studying everything even more critically than before, as if she expected something to happen to the furniture or their few belongings. Veronica couldn't help but think she didn't feel secure, and wondered guiltily if that was her fault. She loved Claire as if they were actually blood sisters, but she'd always wondered if she'd have been better off back in the orphanage. She had been young enough to probably be adopted, while V was nearly a teenager and a petulant one at that. She hadn't stood a chance.

"It's ...nice. Really white." the young girl muttered and wrinkled her nose a little bit. "It's almost like a hospital."

"Yeah. I didn't really have time to paint it. Or the money. Paint is more expensive than I realized," she laughed and tugged on a strand of hair, her locks hanging down halfway down her torso.

Claire smiled up at her and started to turn in place, like a garden sprinkler. "Greens. Or blues. They'd match your hair and compliment it." she stated with a nod of her head and tapping a finger to her bottom lip. She was visual, Veronica could almost hear the gears in her head clicking as they imagined colors on the wall.

"Yeah? And what about for you? What colors would compliment you best?" She asked as she walked over and flopped onto the couch. As discreetly as she could, she pulled up her omnitool and used a bit of her own money that she had left and ordered them Chinese food. Sweet and sour chicken, extra sauce, for Claire and an order of Bourbon Chicken for herself, and she didn't dare forget the crab rangoon to share. Claire would pout for days if she forgot that, it was her favorite.

"Not pink." She said firmly. "White and blue? Black and blue?" She asked curiously, clearly paying more attention to her older sister than her own preferences.

"Fair. Remind me to get some paint when I get back from basic, okay?" She asked her and then patted the seat next to her on the couch.

Claire nodded her head and smiled, moving over to sit next to Veronica. "I'll try to. Paint isn't high on my priority list," she said with a thoughtful nod. That was before the squeak when Veronica grabbed and started tickling her, leaving the young blonde shrieking as she laughed and tried to get away.

"Not high on the priority list, huh? Huh?!" They laughed and fell back onto the couch as Veronica let her escape. Her eyes fell closed and she sighed. "I hope this goes by quick. I'm going to have to adjust to discipline." she muttered, sticking out her tongue and wrinkling her nose. Claire's laugh soothed her, and she was confident she'd be able to do it for her little sister. Hell, maybe she'd even like it.

Claire quietly folded her last remaining clothes into her backpack, making sure they covered her handful of pictures to protect them. They were precious memories that she'd wished would have never ended. That wasn't meant to be, however.

Veronica was gone to basic, and had gotten herself an apartment to come home to. The younger was left behind, and it stung bitterly but she told herself she understood. Veronica was moving onto bigger and better things, growing up. Claire shouldn't be surprised, she couldn't expect Veronica to take care of her forever. She'd been lucky to spend six years with her.

She finally tucked the only stuffed animal she'd ever had into the bag. It was a dingy, cuddled-into-shabbiness, baby blue teddy bear. Veronica had gotten it for her when they were still in the orphanage, plucking it from a pile of donated Christmas presents before anyone could claim it.

No one had ever cared about Claire like that. That was why, when Veronica was sneaking out the unlatched back door of the overcrowded and underfunded home for unwanted kids, Claire had followed without a question. She'd rather have nothing with Veronica than everything alone.

Some choices weren't hers to make, though. A bitter Canadian winter would be here in only a few weeks, and she needed to find somewhere to sleep. She was on her own now.

Two and a Half Months Later

Sunday phone calls had rolled around again, and Veronica was surprised when she heard a chime on her own omni-tool. Normally she had to be the one to instigate conversation, and recently Claire had been rushing her off the line. Instead, today he saw the little image of Claire's caller ID on her screen. Pressing the button. she leaned back in her bunk with her hat still on her head.

"Shepard here," she chimed brightly, seeing the grainy picture of Claire show up. The Alliance had upgraded Veronica's omni-tool, wanting her to have good equipment for missions once she got out of here. She'd be graduating top of her class. Still, the picture was bad quality, like Claire was in a dark room.

"Hey, V," Claire squeaked, holding back a sneeze as she wrinkled her nose and then cleared her throat some. She sounded like she was getting really sick. That was worrisome. "So, I got your message. With the ticket... And money. Are you wanting me to give that to Jen?"

The young marine stared at the image for a long second. "What? No! I mean, I miss her, but it's for you, goofball. I figured you'd have whittled down the funds in the account getting Chinese without me. Why? Did you already buy yourself a shuttle ticket? I already booked a hotel for us. I get three days of leave before they ship me out and I thought I'd spend it with my favorite little sister."

Silence answered Veronica for awhile as she saw Claire fidget. Her movements were tense and subdued, as if she were in a small space. Had she made a fort? Veronica narrowed her eyes at her as Claire finally glanced up. That was the I-done-goofed face.

"Um...you mean you actually want me around?" She asked quietly.

"I thought that was clear when I booked the apartment so you'd have a roof over your head…." She froze. "Wait a minute. Claire Schatzi, where the hell are you?" She demanded, her voice sounding less like a sister and more like her drill sergeant.

"Tenth St?" Claire murmured. "In the back alley."

"Doing what?"

"... Sitting in a box, at the moment."

"Get your skinny ass back to the apartment right this damn instant." Veronica hissed, instructions tumbling out in a rush of anger and concern. "Right now. Go bathe. Go eat something in the cabinets if it didn't all expire, and go sleep. You will stay in the apartment until it's time for your shuttle. And you will get your ass on that shuttle to come and see me," she barked, though her face showed more concern than actual anger at the situation. Good God, how long had Claire been outside?!

"Really?" Claire questioned softly, shifting in her seat just long enough for Veronica to see a few of the their pictures taped up on the cardboard wall behind her.

"Yes really. Go home. Rest. I'll see you in two weeks, okay?" Veronica said more softly as a few of her comrades looked over at her with raised brows for the shouting. She mouthed "I'm sorry" at them and then focused back on her omni-tool.

Claire nodded her head, starting to pull down the pictures very carefully as she glanced outside of her makeshift home. She seemed stunned, and a little overwhelmed. "Okay…"

Veronica frowned as she watched the background change. It was snowy outside, and the box Claire was climbing out of was wet. Her thin coat was too.

"You take a hot bath too, okay?" She murmured. "I'll see you soon. I miss you."

"I miss you too, V." Claire murmured weakly, dragging her backpack onto her shoulder. "Just two weeks?"

"Yeah. Two weeks. Hook up to the account I left for the apartment. Express order yourself a coat. Get some rest, and keep warm. If you need medicine have it delivered. Stars above know that there's enough money just sitting in that account now that it's worth the delivery if you're sick." She could feel herself rambling like she used to before basic. She bit down on the inside of her mouth to keep from doing it again.

A small smile curved Claire's lips now at that same rambling from her big sister. "Yes, ma'am. I love you, V." She murmured softly, about to hang up.

"I love you more, goofball. Stay out of trouble for two weeks, yeah?" She almost pleaded and heard a soft laugh from Claire in answer and a nod before the young blonde hung up the call.

Veronica closed her omni-tool and shook her head, a few of her friends from boot looking over at her with a bit of amusement. Rather than get into a debate or an insult war with them, she shrugged her shoulders and tipped her hat down into her face for a nap. Claire would end up being the death of her eventually.

Graduation Day

Graduation had taken much longer than Veronica had expected; all she wanted now was to get some food. She was starving, but before she could go find a restaurant she had to find her little poof ball. She'd gone outside to be more easily found, and started sending messages to Claire's omni-tool.

 _Outside. Needed some air. Come find me, goofball, so we can get food._

Once the message had sent, V stood as straight as she could in the "at ease" position. The last thing she needed was one of her superior officers coming out to ask her why she was slacking off. Even though she had leave for a few days, as long as she was in uniform she belonged to the Alliance. And one more reason to find Claire and get out of here. But before Claire could find her, she heard someone walking up from behind.

"Shepard, good to see you. I think a few of the military families are upset their children didn't get top of the class," a familiar voice muttered, warm and hinting at a laugh as she turned to face him. It was Captain Anderson.

"Sir," she moved to salute and he chuckled.

"I'm not on duty, Shepard. At ease" he smiled fondly as she relaxed back into an at ease position. "From what they've told me, you have a promising military career ahead of you. Perhaps we'll be able to work together before too long."

"I'd like that, sir. Thank you again for your help earlier this year. I'm not sure what I would have done for Claire," before she could finish the sentence, a weight collided into her back and she stumbled forward a step. "Speak of the devil." she laughed, looking over her shoulder at the girl.

"Veronica!" The young blonde shouted, hugging her so tightly she couldn't turn around to return the hug. Instead, Veronica put her hands over the younger girl's arms and laughed.

"Captain Anderson, this is my younger sister Claire. Claire, that's Captain Anderson." She said in introductions as she tried to rotate the girl to the front. "Could you come here and hug me properly, Schatzi? I haven't seen you for months and you cling like a koala?" She teased, a smile curving her lips and feeling more like herself again. She'd been a soldier every waking breath for months; it was good to feel like a person again.

Claire darted around her older sister's body and hugged her tightly, which Veronica returned with a sigh leaving her lips. She was relieved Claire seemed recovered from the cold or flu she had in their last phone call. All she could hope for now was Claire would listen to her a bit more carefully. She could have sworn she had used words like "we" and "our" when she had shown Claire the apartment.

"It's nice to meet you, Claire. Your sister has a promising future in the Alliance," Anderson said with a smile.

Claire glanced over her shoulder over at him, studying him for a moment without letting go of V. "Hi. I guess it's nice to meet you too."

"Claire. This is the Captain that helped me get everything set up back home. Are you going to keep studying him like that?" She asked quietly, glancing between the two. She was grateful to Anderson, but that didn't mean that her little sister would feel it too. Claire wasn't known to be very trusting of authority figures.

The silence stretched between the three of them for a moment before Claire turned around, leaning her back against Veronica as she looked up at Captain Anderson. "Well, thanks. You wanna get Chinese?" She offered the only truce she knew and Veronica shook in silent laughter.

"You're welcome to join us, Captain. Though I'd like to get into civvies first," she murmured, removing her hat to run a hand through her recently cropped hair that just barely brushed her jaw line.

Claire smiled in triumph, pleased that the awkwardness was smoothed over. She tilted her head back to look at Veronica and her eyes widened. "Your hair!"

V smirked as she put the hat back on and shrugged. "It got in the way. Besides, I think I look good, kid. Come on. We're going fancy tonight, I'm thinking hibachi." She grinned as Claire's eyes widened to the size of saucers. That was fancy Asian food, and a big deal for two broke runaways. Veronica was excited to get Claire to eat a vegetable.

"I'll meet you ladies there, and don't you try to pay, Shepard. You don't have anyone to treat you for your accomplishments, so allow me." Anderson said with a smile as he strode off to call a cab.

"He's not creepy right?" Claire whispered to her sister. Veronica ruffled that mass of platinum blonde hair with a shake of her head and a laugh.

"No, not at all. Come on. My stuff got sent to the hotel and I need to get cleaned up. Then we feast." She chuckled. It seemed some things never changed. Like Claire's suspicions.


	2. Chapter 1 - Forged in Pain

[Once again, Mass Effect owns the universe. We only own Claire, Veronica (sort of), Mahria, and Benjamin. But if someone wants to claim Ben they can. After this, it's about to start getting more serious. Thanks for letting us build up the relationship between the Shepard girls. Hope you're liking it so far.]

The barstool was sticky under Claire's legs as she sat up straight, eyes glued onto the screen above the bar. There was a newscast running about the Alliance, specifically a recent mission on Akuze.

It hadn't gone well, and there were casualty reports running along a rolling ribbon below the newscasters face.

Claire was tracking the list with her eyes, looking for one specific name.

Veronica Shepard. _Please, please don't be dead, V. Please don't be dead._

She was only eighteen, not ready to lose her sister. Hell, she'd be a hundred and not ready to lose the only person she had.

"Reports have confirmed the marines were attacked by a nest of Thresher Maws. There had been only one confirmed survivor."

"They're really dragging this out." The bartender murmured. "Can't just tell us what's going on, they've got to make a big production out of it."

"Get me a shot of vodka… better make it two." Claire muttered quietly.

"How old are you, kid?"

"Old enough to need the liquor "

The bartender sized her up, slim and dressed in jeans tucked into boots, a crop top, and a leather jacket. "ID?"

She pulled one out of her pocket and passed it to him. "Yeah, yeah. I've got a baby face."

He eyed it quietly, looking hard for a forgery. "Yeah." He passed it back, pouring her the double.

She threw it back sharply, taking a breath. The journalist was back on the screen, talking through a repeat of the Akuze mission.

"The only surviving member of the unit was-"

"Veronica Shepard."

Claire nearly jumped out of her skin, the voice right behind her barstool. She spun around with a yelp. "V!"

The redhead looked like hell, arm in a sling and covered in bruises and cuts. Claire registered that while midair, too late to stop herself from squishing into her sister with a hug. "I thought I was gonna see you on the casualty list." She murmured fiercely into her hair.

Veronica winced and put an arm over her. "Me? Pfft, you think I'd go down that easy?"

Claire leaned back, smiling sheepishly. "Threshers are big…"

For a moment, Veronicas expression seemed to be a thousand miles away. "Yeah…. Really big."

Claire looked at the bartender again. "Get her a whisky on the rocks. My tab."

He nodded with a slow smile. "Yes ma'am."

Claire settled Veronica into a seat beside her. "You hungry? They've got pretty good sandwiches here, and the kitchens open another hour." She was hovering, those big blue eyes worried.

"I could eat. Better make it something I can eat with one hand, though." She chuckled gently.

Claire smiled softly and nodded, grabbing a menu that sat on the bar and sliding it over to her sister. It was rare that Claire had to look after Veronica, but it seemed she was making a point that she could do it now.

The stitches above Veronica's right eye itched something fierce, and it took all of her self control not to reach up and scratch. Her entire body felt like a walking bruise, though the medical gel, medi-gel, would do its wonders in a few days. She had gotten off lucky. Everything on that mission had been done by the book but all she could hear in her own head were the screams of her unit getting destroyed by the Threshers. A shudder went through her and she felt cold, barely seeing the menu as she picked up the whiskey on the rocks and downed a large gulp of it. Screw the fact she likely shouldn't drink with her painkillers.

"V?" Claire murmured, staring at her older sister like she wanted to fix her, but this wasn't a weapon she could put back together.

"Hmm?" She asked and looked over at Claire. Blinking a few times, she smiled. "I'm fine. Really. I just hurt. Um, I'll get the club with chips," she told the bartender, mostly to reassure Claire that she would eat something.

"So, was it that bad?" Claire couldn't help but ask. She'd seen Veronica after a few missions. It normally wasn't like this.

Veronica's gaze got distant for a moment. She could hear the weapon fire, the screams, the panicked scrambling, and the shrieks of the Threshers as they dove in and out of the ground like water. "It was bad. My entire unit's dead, Claire. I failed them, and the Alliance doesn't see that," she grumbled, finishing off her drink in one swig. "Another."

The bartender gave the lieutenant a sideways glance and then shrugged as he started another whiskey on the rocks and put in the order for her lunch.

"What do you mean the Alliance doesn't think you failed?" Claire asked as she scrunched up her nose as she thought. This wasn't making much sense.

A loud sigh answered her as Veronica dug into the larger pocket of her pants and pulled out an envelope. Before passing it to Claire, she studied the Alliance insignia on the envelope once again. These people were becoming her family in a different way than Claire was, but they were her family. She didn't understand what they were thinking with this.

"I mean this." She grumbled and took the new glass of whiskey and sipped at it this time.

Claire didn't know what to expect. Authority never did things well when people messed up, and now she was worried. While the military certainly wasn't her cup of tea, it was Veronica's and she didn't want her sister to feel like they were abandoning her. Veronica wasn't looking at her, and after a moment Claire opened the envelope and pulled out the two letters inside. The first letter had the N7 logo emboldened in the right corner of the letterhead.

"Sis, this is an N7 assignment."

"They're rewarding me for failing. The unit dying is my fault, Claire. I was in command. I did everything by the book and they still died. And now they want me to lead more people?" She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Then you didn't fail, they think you did well. I know you're upset, but could you have done anything better?" She inquired.

A sigh left her lips and she refused to answer her younger sister, which was an answer in itself. Once the sandwich arrived, she picked it up and took a bite. The bartender had done her the kindness of cutting into four pieces so she wouldn't have to struggle with one hand. As much as it made her feel like a child, she wasn't about to refuse the help. Her pride only went so far.

The news continued to drone on in the background, talking about various elections and changes in command, but the volume had been turned back down. No one cared who was running for office right now. The big news stories were missions and how the Alliance was coping with working with the other races.

"Well, since we do have the good news of the N7 program I've got a surprise. I feel like we need to celebrate" Claire chimed in after a moment.

"You're wanting hibachi, aren't you?"

"No! Well, I mean, I always want hibachi. That's not the point. I remember that Asari I was telling you about?"

"Yeah. The one that occasionally dyes her scalp? What about her? You aren't a dad are you?" Veronica looked nervous.

"No! God no! But...we're still together. And she's cooking dinner tonight….. So it's a good thing you're coming home. I already messaged her, she took out more food so you could have dinner with us."

"I think Benjamin is coming. Would there be enough for him? He wanted to check on me."

"I guess so. I'll let her know there will be four of us."

Claire grinned brightly, leading Veronica to her hoverbike once she had finished her food. "You gonna be able to hold on? I'll go slow." She rigged a little seatbelt with a carabineer and her own belt buckle, hooking V to her and taking off.

The apartment wasn't far, and when they arrived there was an Asari waiting on the porch with a couple grocery bags. "Claire!" She said eagerly. She had on a purple sundress and had her head dyed to match.

"V, this is Mahria. Mahria, this is my big sister."

The Asari looked delighted. "Veronica, yes? Claire has told me a lot about you. I'd hoped to get to meet you." She shook Vs good hand.

"She cooks way better than me." Claire took the bags from her and opened the door to head up the stairs. "What we having, Baby Blue?"

"Grilled salmon, seasoned cauliflower, and twice-baked potatoes."

Claire leaned over and kissed the Asari's blue cheek. "Healthy never sounded so good."

"That remains to be seen. I also made a cheesecake."

Claire whooped. "You get a bubble bath and massage."

"Just a massage?

"That's up to you, good looking." She grinned.

Veronica couldn't help the smile that curved her lips at seeing her younger sister happy as they made their way up the stairs to their second floor apartment. They had upgraded a little bit since her days in basic and had a standard three bedroom apartment. It was pricier, but now that Claire could work a little they could manage it without a problem.

"Do me a favor and keep it down if you two get up to shenanigans." She countered the couple as they got to the door and she fumbled for her keys. She had come by here before the bar to drop off her things, with help from another member of the Alliance, and now she had to hunt for the illusive key in her pocket.

"I got it, sis." Claire chirped as she darted in with her key and unlocked the door quickly, ushering everyone inside.

"Alright. I'm going to go rest for a bit before dinner gets underway. It's lovely to meet you, Mahria. I'm glad you're cooking. Claire's cooking would kill us." She laughed, closing the door to her room quickly before a flying pillow could hit her in the face.

It didn't feel like long after her nap that Claire knocked on the door to rouse Veronica for dinner. She hadn't heard a doorbell or any male voices as she stirred to wakefulness, the screams from her dreams fading as she sat up carefully. Daniels, Tombs, Bailey, and Steele were the ones that still seemed to haunt her the most. Hopefully she could lead and live in a way that would honor their memories.

Claire was worried about her, but she knew the older woman needed space.

"What's-his-face just pulled up in the parking lot, V. You good?"

Veronica nodded. "Yeah. Let him in for me, I'll be out in a minute. I want to change."

"One sexy Shepard coming right up." Claire chuckled, shutting the door.

She let Veronica's boyfriend in, plastering a smile even though she didn't like him much. "Sit over there and don't touch anything until V comes out. I'm going to the kitchen to help." She left him in the living room.

Veronica struggled to change her clothes, carefully moving her arm in the sling. The medi-gel was already knitting things up rather well, but it didn't take away the rather intense pain. She'd have to wait another day or two before she could start using her arm again. She changed into a nice skirt, a pair of flats, and an off the shoulder top before she came out of her room. Benjamin sat on the couch waiting for her, scrolling through the alerts on his omni-tool. He looked handsome enough, in slight dress clothes rather than his formal Alliance uniform and his black hair slicked back from his face.

"Veronica." He breathed as he stood up and walked over to her, hugging her carefully as she relaxed into his arms. "I'm glad you're okay. I'm sorry about your unit."

"Thanks, Ben. I appreciate it." She whispered into his shoulder before pulling away and heading over to their little dining room table, sitting down so she could stay close to Claire and Mahria while they cooked in the kitchen.

Ben glanced into the kitchen before he followed his girlfriend and took a seat next to her at the table and poured the water pitcher that was on the table into their two glasses.

The two chatted about different weapons mods that the Alliance was getting, their previous commanding officers, and plans for their mutual shore leave. He was shipping out in four more days, while Veronica still had her two weeks to play around with before she shipped out to the N7 training facility.

Mahria came out balancing two plates with Claire following close behind as she passed them out. The pretty Asari took the seat next to Ben and across from Shepard so Claire could sit at her other side. Claire sat food in front of Ben and V before going back into the kitchen and coming back with more glasses and a bottle of wine. She poured a bit for each person before taking her seat.

"It looks fantastic, ladies." Veronica murmured, lifting the glass of wine to her lips first to take a sip.

Ben simply nodded his head, glancing between the two who made dinner, and took a bite of the salmon. A look of surprise crossed his face at the taste, resulting in all three women smiling at him almost smugly before they all started to eat as well.

"Didn't think my girl could cook?" Claire grinned

"So, I have to know. How long have you managed to keep my sister out of trouble, Mahria?" Veronica teased

The Asari laughed lightly and glanced over at Claire before taking her hand. "A few months now. I decided to help her out instead of joining up with the Eclipse."

"I'm glad I could tempt you away from a life of merc-dom." Claire teased as she finished off the last bite on her plate and leaned back in her seat, sipping at the wine. "You're too cute for those ugly uniforms anyway"

"You aren't of age...are you?" Ben asked incredulously as he sipped at his own glass of wine and winced as he felt a shoe grind into his toes.

"I'm her guardian. Drinking in the house is fine as long as she doesn't go anywhere near that bike of hers after she drinks." Veronica smiled, watching Ben carefully in with new eyes. She respected her partner, but if he didn't respect her enough to let her raise her sister her way then she was beginning to wonder just how much of a future this relationship had.

Claire crossed a finger over her heart with a smile. "Promise to never drink and drive, V. Especially not when I have so many better things to do here."

Mahria giggled and Veronica smiled brightly at the two of them, though the silence from Ben felt heavier than usual. Normally they spoke mostly on weapons, Alliance gossip, the new ship prototypes, and occasionally about vids and music. But this silence seemed strange. Did he have something to tell her?

When the meal was finished, Veronica pushed back her seat and started collecting the plates." You two cooked. Ben and I will clean up. And by we'll clean up I mean he'll wash and I'll dry." She joked, wiggling her fingers in her sling.

Claire laughed, pulling Mahria down beside her on the couch and refilling everyone's wine glasses as Veronica carefully balanced a few of the plates, using her biotics to hold them in place. The light blue glow resonated around the plates as she walked them to the sink and Ben smiled a bit as he followed her with the larger serving dishes and water glasses.

"Well, I'm actually glad that you volunteered us." He muttered.

"Oh? Been wanting to get a moment alone away from the younger love birds?" She teased as she carefully placed the plates down into the sink and turned on the hot water as she moved to a cabinet to grab a drying rag.

"You could say that. I wanted to talk to you about your sister and her….girlfriend." He hesitated around the title, which made Veronica pause as she looked over at him. She gestured with the dish towel for him to continue. "Well. You know I don't mind aliens and that I don't mind people dating those of the same sex, right?"

"Riiiiight?" She questioned, concerned about where this was going as he started to hand wash the plates.

"Why would you let her date an Asari? They're good for sex but not to take home to your family. They're just sex toys that talk." He drawled as he passed her a plate.

Taking the plate she stared at him, not drying it but just studying him. "Come again? Are you implying that Asari are lesser?"

"Well, yeah. They strip for hundreds of years. What else are they good for?""

The chattering in the dining area had died off. Claire looked into the kitchen with narrowed eyes, an arm around Mahria while the Asari looked like she was on the verge of tears. Or crushing something with her biotics. Veronica hadn't known her nearly long enough to be able to tell.

"I'd like to speak to you outside. Now, Benjamin Jones." She snapped as she put down the still damp plate on the towel and walked to the door of the apartment. She looked over her shoulder at Claire, giving her a very slight nod of her head before she disappeared out into the hall and Benjamin hesitated only a moment before following after her.

Veronica paced back and forth in the hall, glad she had opted into wearing flats instead of heels, and looked up at him with a look that had made many under her command wither and cower from her. "What the hell, Benjamin? You realize you're spouting the same racist crap as those that were against interracial or gay couples?!"

Benjamin stood up a bit straighter, his face smoothing into his military bearing as he listened to her, though he shook his head. "No...I'm not. Asari aren't taken seriously. They spend the first half of their lives as mercs or strippers, about a hundred actually being serious, and then the rest of their lives on Thessia or somewhere else just advising people based on their 'worldly experience'. So why are you letting Claire date one?"

Before the last sentence left his lips, Veronica stepped forward only about an inch or two away from his face. "First of all, I don't 'let" Claire do anything. She's grown. Second, the Asari are graceful and beautiful beings that have more intelligence than you seem to have in your pinky finger. Thirdly, you realize I've dated Asari, don't you? I've dated Asari, went on a date with a Salarian, and I've attempted flirting with Turians. They're a little oblivious but still. They are no less deserving of love than humans and certainly more deserving of love than you are."

"What are you saying?" He questioned, actually showing a bit of concern for a moment.

"I'm saying you're dumped. Get the hell out of here and don't come back."

"Yeah!" Claire cheered from the other side of the door, causing Veronica to glance over at the closed door and roll her eyes with a slight smile.

"Veronica...please." He begged.

She walked away from him, her hand moving to the doorknob of her apartment as she looked over her shoulder. "The Shepard girls don't deal with any form of bigotry. Against skin tone, blood, sexuality, anything. If you don't get out of here, I'll fling you down the hallway with my biotics. Damn the consequences. Leave, Jones."

Without another word, she opened the door and slipped inside. She almost laughed as Claire stumbled back from the door and tried to look innocent. While V could count on one hand the number of partners she approved of Claire dating, this woman was one. And she needed her sister to be happy. Most of her life seemed like it would be devoted to the Alliance, the least she could do was attempt to safeguard her sister's happiness.

Claire stuck her head out as Ben stood on the doorstep. "If I ever see you again, you'll regret it." She hissed.

The door slammed hard. Claire turned back around to look at the other two. "So, cheesecake?"


	3. Chapter 2 - So you saved the Citadel?

[[Alright! This is another cute scene before we deal with the events of Mass Effect 2. Once again, I don't own the Bioware characters. My friend owns Claire, and I own this version of Veronica. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave a review]]

Veronica was grateful that her crew had all made it through the battle the Citadel. There had been too much loss for her liking, despite her efforts to save those that she could. In the resulting quiet, she knew what she needed; to see her sister and have a bit of shore leave with her favorite crew. It had taken a bit convincing them to come with her to Earth, but ultimately she had won. Who could deny the Hero of the Citadel? Likely only Claire could have.

She had told Claire that she was bringing a friend, and Claire's own relief she was okay had smoothed any possible argument. V had woven in one little lie, however. She'd told her sister she would be home a day later than she would, which made sure the apartment was empty when she walked in. Following after her were her squad mates, her pilot, and her ship doctor. A few of them would be staying here at the apartment, but she was hard pressed to make sure that a certain clingy lieutenant didn't spend the night.

V darted up the stairs two at a time ahead of everyone, her bag thrown over her shoulder. A smaller bag for Joker was over her left arm and sliding down as she unlocked the door. The apartment was clean and empty, meaning Claire was on a job. The idea made her stomach tie into knots, as it always did when her sister went into the dangerous underbelly of the docks to smuggle stolen goods and illegal parts. She tried to make herself relax as she ushered everyone in.

"Alright. So...I kinda want to surprise her. She should be home any minute. Joker, sit on the couch. Everyone else, go find a room to hide in. Wrex...you likely need to be on the balcony." Veronica grinned as she darted ahead, placing Joker's bag on the couch and going into her room to drop her bag.

"Why can't I hide?" Joker complained as he carefully moved over to the couch.

"Aren't you fragile? Well, more than most humans?" Wrex commented with a smirk as he moved past Joker to the balcony.

"Point taken." He grumbled back.

Everyone laughed a bit and V could hear people starting to scramble to find places to hide. Garrus leaned against the doorframe of her room, looking it over. It was rather bare, like she'd never really found her place there. It had been painted with a mural by some artist that Claire had gotten for them, but there were pictures on the walls. The bed was neat and done in darker colors, her pack dumped at the foot of her bed for now. They didn't have much shore leave, so she didn't bother getting too unpacked. Anderson understood that she needed to see Claire, that the blonde needed to verify Veronica was safe, before she went back out to hunt down more geth and the Reapers.

"You don't spend much time here, do you Commander?" He rumbled as he watched her.

"Not really. And come on, Vakarian. We aren't working. Shepard or Veronica is fine." She jokingly chastised as she left the room. The light got turned off behind her, but she could see him sitting on the bed over her shoulder.

Something about that image sent the light flutter of butterflies in her stomach, but she said nothing and went to join Joker on the couch. She leaned back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other, holding back a yawn. It looked like everyone had found a hiding place. From where she was sitting, she couldn't see any of them.

Claire had been out all damn day, and she was grumpy about it. First the boy at the docks had tried to run off with her cargo of high end weapons mods, then just after she'd gotten them back she'd been subject to a "random" police check.

She'd batted her lashes and stayed polite, despite wanting to throw the entire squad out an airlock. Any. Airlock, really. Luckily, she didn't have anything illegal on her this time, and they'd need a warrant to look into her omnitool.

She pushed open the door grumpily, but immediately perked up when she saw Veronica sitting on the couch. "V!"

The redhead grinned brightly. "Hey there, squirt. Forget I was coming home?" her quick emerald eyes scanned the blonde. She looked tired, her leather jacket getting more worn, and there was a new half healed scar across her right knuckles.

Claire groaned. "I thought that was tomorrow…."

"Nope. Here I am." She pointed to the guy sitting next to her. "This is my pilot, Joker."

Claire smiled, holding out a hand to shake. "I think I've seen you in some of the pictures V sent. Nice to meet you, I'm the obnoxious sister."

"He's got Vrollicks, Claire. Shake gently." Veronica cautioned.

The blonde playfully shook her hips, but her grip stayed soft on Jokers hand. "I'm gonna go put this coat up. Y'all want takeout? I'll buy." She walked to the hall closet.

A yelp followed and the door was slammed shut. "V! There's a quarian in the closet!"

"That's Tali." Veronica giggled.

Claire opened the closet door again. "Hi, nice to meet you. Sorry for slamming the door on you."

The shine of Tali's eyes in her mask gave away that she was smiling. "It's nice to meet you too."

The blonde girl chuckled, putting her coat up and walking to the bathroom to run a comb through her curls. "V, there's an asari in the bathroom!" She glanced back into another open door. "And a turian sitting on your bed!"

"That's Liara and Garrus." Veronica snickered.

"Where else are you hiding people!?" Claire demanded, opening all the doors. While the aliens had been well received, Veronica heard Kaiden yelp and come flying down the hallway. "Who the hell are you and why are you in my workroom?"

"I didn't… touch anything…" he groaned

"That's Lieutenant Alenko, Claire. Don't throw marines."

"Hmmf. He bounced. Nice ass, though." Her smirk returned. An older woman behind her laughed.

"I'm Dr. Chakwas."

"My pleasure, Dr. I'm gonna step onto the porch a minute, why don't you make yourself comfortable?" Claire smiled. Veronica was proud of her manners…. At least until she'd been outside for a few minutes.

"I thought Wrex would scare her more than us." Garrus chuckled.

Veronica got up and yanked the door open, finding Claire sitting on the balcony railing and smoking a cigarette. She was laughing along with something Wrex had said, and the big krogan was chuckling too. "So a turian and asari make you yelp, but not a krogan?" Veronica grumbled, trying to get the cigarette from the younger woman's hand. Claire held her off with some creative contortionism.

"I'm used to krogan. My buddy Arcx is over all the time lately." She took another long drag and flicked the butt into a mason jar she used as an ashtray."I've never met a turian or quarian, and I haven't seen an asari in almost a year."

"Why? What happened to Mahria?" Veronica frowned. She'd been running around for such a long time, had she missed something important?

Claire flicked her lighter impatiently. "Her mother is making a bid for a high position on Thessia. It…. Didn't suit her to have a daughter dating a two-bit smuggler. She went to the Citadel and got a "respectable" job with the asari Consort. It doesn't bother me too much anymore." She shrugged. "Anyway. Pizza? There's a place near the docks that makes a kind turians and quarians can eat."

"Claire." Veronica frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you'd make that face you're making right now, that I can't stand. Come on, pizza. I can make a booze run. Let's make it a party!"

"Are you sure that you're alright?"

"Yes, V. Yes. I'm fine. Pizza? Booze? Party tray? Come on! You saved the galaxy, that doesn't happen every day, right?"

Veronica sighed but gave a nod of her head. "Alright, alright. Go talk to Garrus and Tali and see what they want. No one else has such tight diet restrictions."

"Aye, aye!" She cheered before she rushed back in from the balcony and over to two dextro DNA members of her crew.

"She's a spitfire, huh, Shepard?" Wrex chuckled as they both watched her through the glass of the balcony doors since she had pulled the curtains open.

"Oh yeah. Sometimes too much of one." She answered with a grin and gestured for him to go in ahead of her.

Wrex shrugged and did so, finding Claire with a pen and sticky note, writing down pizza toppings for everyone.

"Okay, so one dextro pizza, half meat lover half veggie, and in a sterile seal box to prevent contamination during delivery. One stuffed crust supreme, one ham and bacon, and one pepperoni. Two extra bacon meat lovers because Wrex asked nicely. Chakwas wants cheesy bread. Joker wants hot wings. Alenko gets thrown out a window for suggesting pineapple, and everyone else gets extra. Sound right?"

Everyone was cracking up and Claire playfully batted her lashes at Kaiden, who looked flustered and uncomfortable.

"I'll swing out and pick up alcohol." She offered. "Can you handle them?"

Claire grinned wickedly. "You know me. Great at man-handling. The girls usually have to handle me."

Tali and Chakwas laughed. Liara blushed purple, and Joker started snorting.

"What am I going to do with you?" Veronica groaned

"Build me a weapons lab and let me blow a crater into a uninhabited planet?"

"No!"

"Pick up liquor and watch me try to teach you how to dance?" Claire sounded more hopeful this time.

"That I can do. But I'll need a partner to help me carry all of this. I know I'm going to need a ton of different stuff. Garrus, you game?"

"Alcohol to celebrate nearly dying? Of course I am. Anyone want anything specific?" He rumbled as he moved towards the door to wait for Shepard.

"Ryncol!" Wrex shouted.

"Mixers? I don't drink much." Tali admitted shyly as she took a seat next to Joker.

"Anything strong!" Claire cheered as she started plugging in the pizza order into her omni-tool and pulled Liara and Dr. Chakwas down onto the couch next to the others that were sitting.

"Beer?" Kaiden asked timidly, half expecting to be made fun of for his choices again.

"Aye, aye." Veronica murmured with a mock salute as she and Garrus disappeared out the door to head to the local liquor store.

By the time the two of them got back with their bags of liquor, their twelve pack of beer, and a few soda mixers for Tali, there was already pulsing music coming from the apartment. She could hear it as she unlocked the door and slipped inside with her current partner in crime. Claire and Tali were dancing while Dr. Chakwas was talking with Kaiden and Joker. Despite the conversation, Kaiden's gaze was following Claire's hips move as they danced.

"Uh...Shepard? Is he?" Garrus started.

"Yeah. He is. She can handle it." V laughed as she set up the bottles on the counter and pulled down cups. She got out tape and put some on each glass and labeled it with someone's name so that there wouldn't cross contamination. The last thing that she needed to happen while they celebrated was a hospital trip.

Dr. Chakwas came over and leaned against the counter with a smile. "Commander, I think I'll let you kids enjoy the party. I'm going to go and meet up with a friend of mine. Stay out of trouble. And if anyone needs anything," She paused and glanced at Kaiden and Joker before looking back at her. "Let me know. Have a good evening, Garrus."

The good doctor left with a smile, humming along to the music that Claire continued to blare from the speakers around the apartment. Veronica grabbed her glass and mixed a few different alcohols for her, the bottles for dextro DNA on the opposite counter, and added sprite. The newly minted human Specter downed half of the drink just as Claire danced over and started mixing a drink for herself.

"Hey! Could you bring me a beer? I'd rather not move. Just in case." Joker called over and leaned back on the couch, swaying back and forth some in his seat. He didn't see a reason to risk a broken leg. Not yet anyway.

"Can you bring one over me too, ma'am?" Kaiden asked, turning back to continue a new conversation with Wrex.

Veronica smiled at Claire and gave a roll of her eyes. "Men." She half grumbled as she balanced her cup in the crook of her arm, grabbed a beer, and then grabbed the bottle of Ryncol and handed it off to Wrex as she went by. The krogan rumbled a laugh as he popped open the liquor and took a swig right as Veronica passed a beer to Kaiden.

"Is it a human thing to expect the women to bring you drinks?" Garrus questioned with a twinkling grin in his eyes.

"Some of them." Claire and V said in unison before laughing.

Veronica perched herself on the arm of the couch, mouthing the words of the song to herself. She didn't need her crew knowing her secret just yet. Rather than chugging the rest, she sipped at it and looked around the room. Liara had a glass with some of the blueberry vodka with sprite, Tali had some citrus like drink, Garrus was drinking the turian brandy, Wrex has already put a dent in his bottle, the boys were drinking their beer, and Claire had whatever she had mixed. This was what she fought more. Everyone in this room, just laughing and enjoying themselves.

"Commander? You got this weird look on your face." Joker commented and then made a zoned out face that caused Veronica to nudge his shoulder.

"If you won't so breakable, Joker, you'd have been punched." She laughed as she took another sip and then put the drink down on the side table before she moved out into free space of the living room.

Claire grinned and put down her own drink and moved over to her sister. "So? Dancing lesson?"

"You know I can dance if it's formal." Veronica grumbled to herself, half tempted to nudge her sister the same way that she had nudged Joker.

"Well, we aren't doing a tango. But follow my lead."

She held back a groan as her little sister started dancing, a rolling of hips and a smoothness of motion. Claire always had a stronger amount of rhythm in her body than Veronica did, and she envied her sister that. The older woman watched her sister move and then attempted to mimic it, laughing some. Liara and Tali were dancing as well, giggling and talking about the foolishness of V trying to dance.

Joker was snorting as he tried to hold back his laugh, and Wrex just rumbled a chuckle but went back to talking guns with Garrus. The turian was listening to him, but his gaze kept moving over to the dancing ladies and he gave a shake of his head with a look of amusement on his face. He knew he couldn't dance well, and he wasn't sure he would have been brave enough to dance in front of his comrades.

Kaiden's gaze moved between the two human women, not settling on one for very long. While he thought he was being discreet, no one was fooled.

"So, he still barking up the wrong tree V?" Claire asked as she moved closer to her sister.

"Yeah. He won't stop. He keeps thinking I'm going to sleep with him because I'm nice. It's driving me crazy." She complained with a roll of her eyes and glanced over at Kaiden. His gaze was on her and he smiled but she spun back around to look at her sister. "Help me."

"Oh, I got this. Operation Snatch and Drop is a go." She cackled.

Claire walked over and grabbed a bottle off the counter. "Alenko, come here." she grinned, with a tempting wiggle of her hips. That got the lieutenants attention, and he was on his feet in a second. Joker snickered as he walked over to join the blonde. He could quickly see a trap forming.

Claire poured a couple shots. "I wanted to make up for tossing you like a ragdoll, so here. Take a couple with me, and I'll teach you how to dance." she fiddled with her omnitool for a minute before slamming one back.

"Sure." Kaiden grinned, underestimating just how strong the whiskey she was doling out really was. She shot gunned a couple shots with him, giggles getting progressively louder. Kaiden was blinking in slow motion too, clearly getting hit hard. "This is… tough stuff."

"The liver is evil and must be punished." She giggled. "Now come dance with me. Tali, put something on with a beat."

The music amped up to something night club like, Claire's hips rocking and Kaiden's eyes following with an almost hypnotized expression. The heat from the whiskey and his own rushing blood was melting his inhibitions.

Veronica smirked as Claire let him dance all over her, his hands on her hips and leaning in close. She playfully batted those long lashes again. "Hey, come take a walk with me." she was slurring a little, but looked devious.

"Okay…" he followed her out the front door.

"Commander, should we be concerned?" Joker raised an eyebrow. "She was looking pretty drunk, and Kaiden had the bad decisions vibe going on."

"Give it a minute." Veronica chuckled.

About five minutes later, Claire walked back in with a steady smirk. "Done."

"I thought you were drunk?" Garrus blinked at her.

"Nah, but I'm a good actress, don't you think? Kaiden, on the other hand…" She started laughing. "His face! I leaned in like I was going to kiss him, then shoved him into an open taxi door and slammed it. He looked like he just realized he had a laser sight on his chest." she sat back down in a stool at the counter and poured another shot. "That was fun, V. Let me know the next time you need a convenient slutty distraction."

"Will do." She laughed, knocking back a shot herself as she flopped onto the couch next to Joker. Garrus joined the two of them while Claire, Tali, and Liara continued to dance to the flowing music.

"That was terrible, Shepard. I love it." Garrus chuckled as he sipped at his second glass of brandy while Joker worked on his third beer.

"Oh, Alenko is going to be so confused in the morning." Joker laughed.

Veronica just smirked, watching her sister dance with two of her best friends. Liara was turning bright purple and Tali was just giggling up a storm. It seemed like she was ending her Pilgrimage with a bang. Everything was falling perfectly into place.

"Alright. Gotta see my cousin. The Ryncol is mine to take, right Shepard?" The krogan rumbled.

"Yeah. Get it out of here. We drink it and we'll end up with an ulcer." She laughed and got up to mix herself another drink.

"Anyone need to go or do we have people hanging out?" Claire asked with a grin.

"I don't have to be anywhere. I claim the couch though." Joker chimed as he opened another beer.

"If you have space, I'll stay Shepard. I'll explore Earth later." Garrus chuckled, leaving room for Veronica to sit on the couch.

"We'll stay!" Liara and Tali chimed in together.

"I'll stay in your room then, V. The girls can take my room. And Garrus? You can get the futon in the workroom." Claire planned as she pulled Liara in with a grin. "Unless you'd like to share a bed with me?" She teased.

Liara turned a bright shade of purple and shook her head. "I...I think I'll stay with Tali. Get to know each other better. We didn't talk much on the Normandy with everything going on."

"Spoilsport," Claire teased before she knocked back another shot.


	4. Chapter 3 - Lost Normandy

[[Now we're getting into the heavy stuff, guys. It shall be intense. Once again, I do not own Bioware characters and Claire belongs to my co-author and Veronica belongs to me. ]]

"Yeah. They have me running patrols to find any lingering Geth activity. Real exciting, right?" Veronica drawled, leaning back in her seat in the conference room as she spoke with her sister.

"Oh yeah. Loads. Remind me why they wouldn't let you stay at home for a longer shore leave?" Claire complained, the holographic image tucking messy curls back behind her face. She looked grumpy.

A laugh left Veronica as she shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. But I do my duty, you know me. Maybe some of these Geth will have something in their memory cores to do with the Reapers. I have to keep the search up. You know that, sis."

Claire groaned but nodded. "Yeah. I know. Come home soon, though. I miss you. And if you aren't back by my birthday I'm emailing Admiral Hackett again." She threatened with a grin. She'd spent months when she was sixteen harassing him about giving Veronica a raise.

"Miss you too, shortie." Veronica teased with a roll of her eyes and a smile of her own. That was the last thing Admiral Hackett needed.

Claire huffed. "I'm five foot one, thank you very much. Not all of us can be Amazonian warrior goddesses."

"I'm only five foot eight. I'm not that tall." Veronica countered with a shake of her head, checking her omni-tool. "Hey, I'm gonna have to get off. They're going to need me on the bridge soon. This is the last mission before Tali and Garrus return to the Citadel to do... Whatever it is they do." She explained.

"Oh well. Tell other little sister I say hi and bye. And tell Garrus that next time I see him, he has to talk guns with me. I might have a mod for his sniper rifle." She huffed before she blew a kiss to her older sister. "Get 'em, V. Come home soon. I love you!"

"I love you too, Nubbles. Stay out of trouble." She laughed and ended the call, standing up to roll her shoulders as she moved away from the console. The more frequent calls were nice. The Alliance was allowing her to do more work for the Council for now, meaning she answered to them. Sadly, that meant getting rid of the remaining Geth that were lingering around after the Battle of the Citadel.

They seemed to give every fight a name and was known for the battles now, just as she was known for surviving Akuze. She was known for too many near death experiences. Just once, she wanted to be known more for her deeds than for ability to survive. But that didn't seem to be in the cards for her.

She ran a hand through her hair as she walked out of the communication hub, heading down the stairs to the crews quarters. Joker was always scanning for Geth ships, all they found were the ones they had destroyed. The stealth drive on the ship was more useful than she ever would have imagined. They made the battles with the geth almost a sure thing, and with luck soon they'd be done.

As she rounded the corner coming off the stairs, she heard Garrus curse and a glass clank on the table. Liara, Tali, Garrus, and Kaiden were all playing a game of Skylian Five poker. Everyone was dressed more casually, lighter armor than usual for most of them, and there were chips scattered around the center of the table.

"Who's winning?" Veronica asked with a grin, looking between her friends curiously. She was surprised that Liara and Tali knew how to play. Then again, Kaiden might have taught them when she wasn't looking.

"Tali is." Garrus and Liara said in unison, sounding defeated already. Garrus folded his hand on the table and leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

"We should have never taught her how to play this, Kaiden." Garrus half joked, looking at the pile of chips that Tali had collected.

"I don't know. It's almost worth losing to see her take you down a peg, Garrus." He joked back with a slight smile.

Before the ribbing could continue, they heard a beep over the intercom system before Joker's voice sounded. "Leaving FTL mode. Approaching disappearance location. Suit up just in case, guys." Another beep chimed, noting the end of his transmission.

A few groans left the table as Veronica started walking to her quarters, with a laugh. "Better luck next time guys. Come on, hustle." She teased, escaping a few cursing complaints as she closed the door behind her and suited up into her N7 armor. Hopefully, it would just be slavers rather than Geth. She wouldn't complain either way, though. She'd rather have a fight rather than the boredom that had descended onto her crew during these last few assignments.

"Brace for evasive maneuvers!" Joker's voice cried out over the intercom, followed by the sound of an explosion as the Normandy rocked through space.

"Damnit. What the hell?" Veronica shouted as she darted out of her quarters and up the stairs to the distress beacons and life support pods. The pods wouldn't do them any good if they kept getting slammed. They'd have to use the escape pods.

Another explosion rocked the ship and she grabbed onto one of the bars overhead to steady herself. Hurriedly she grabbed her spare helmet and put it on. The Normandy wasn't going to survive a beating like this. She could smell the smoke even before she cleared her helmet, and then all she smelled was filtered air from her tank. There were screams coming from different floors and she could feel the frantic energy of her crew.

"Shepard!" Liara shouted from behind her, in full armor and with her helmet half secured.

"Distress beacon is ready to be launched." Veronica answered, all laughter gone. The relaxed atmosphere was gone and she was back to being their Commander. She had to make her main focus getting all of her crew to safety.

"Will the Alliance make it in time?" Liara asked right before another explosion rocked her forward into Shepard.

Veronica grabbed her friend and steadied her, watching her through her helmet before giving a nod of her head and grabbing one of the fire extinguishers. The N7 marine put out some of the fires around the distress signals and life support pods before she could answer. "I'm not going to all this trouble for them to find our frozen corpses." She almost snapped. They'd come too far since the Citadel and a Reaper, she didn't intend to die out here.

"Get everyone into the escape shuttles, Liara. We need to evacuate." She said more calmly this time, not wanting to scare the already nervous young asari.

"Joker's still in the cockpit. He won't evacuate." Liara answered, picking up one of the fire extinguishers. She started to spray the fires herself before pausing and looking over her shoulder at Shepard. "I'm not leaving, either."

Shepard hadn't experienced them disobeying her like this on the ship. When they were on shore leave sure, but not here. She moved along the life support pods, dropping her fire extinguisher when she realized it was useless. There was too much damage. "I need you to get the crew onto the evac shuttles. I'll take care of Joker."

"Shepard…" Liara started to say before another explosion rocked them again. The ship was coming apart at the seams and it wouldn't take much more before she was nothing but scrap floating in space.

"Liara, go. Now." Shepard managed to get out, holding onto one of the life support pods and looking over her shoulder. There were knots in her stomach. She could only afford to save one of her friends today. If she had to convince each of them to get onto one of the shuttles they would all be lost. The prospect of losing anyone was too much already.

After a few more moments of silence, Liara nodded her head and sounded resigned. "Aye, aye." She answered and spun on her heel and took off.

Veronica could only hope that Garrus and Tali had already gotten some of the crew from engineering and in the hold onto some of the escape pods. Right now, she had to worry about her stubborn flight lieutenant.

Debris was starting to fall from the top of the ship as she ran, her arms up to protect her face, towards the stairs to get up to the cockpit. She could hear Joker's call over the intercom and the radio, trying desperately to get any Alliance vessel to answer them. This far out in the Terminius Systems they wouldn't get an answer. If anyone was out here it would likely be a trading vessel or a civilian cruise to a new colony. She wouldn't want them to risk themselves.

"Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. This is SSV Normandy. We've suffered heavy damage from an unknown enemy. Please respond." Joker's desperate pleas came over the radio.

Hearing him like this almost broke Shepard's heart. He loved this ship more than she did, and she loved it quite a bit. This ship was more a home to her than the apartment was. The only thing the apartment had that the ship didn't was Claire...

After this ordeal, she was demanding shore leave for at least a month so she could spend time with her.

"Come on, baby. Hold together. Hold together." Joker said, attempting to bargain with the steel of the ship to hold out long enough for them to get help. He was in denial, no help would ever reach them in time.

The door to the central command deck opened up and then there was only Veronicas breathing. Above the CIC and the surrounding stations there was no ceiling, nothing protecting the Normandy from the vacuum of space. Bits of metal floated over head, the seats were no longer secure, and the only thing holding her to the floor of this section of the ship was the gravity density of her boots. Her breathing echoed in her ears like a curse, reminding her of how deep in trouble they actually were. Everything moved in slow motion, like a dream. Or a nightmare.

It was almost a shock to see the cockpit still intact, a kinetic barrier protecting Joker from the vacuum and a half helmet on to help him breathe.

Once she got through that barrier and to him, she ran forward and lightly grabbed his arm. "Come on, Joker! We have to get out of here. Please." She half begged and half ordered, desperate to get the last person off of this ship alive.

"No! I won't abandon the Normandy! I can still save her!" Joker insisted, still clicking interfaces on his controls to attempt to get an answer, a response from the engine, anything. They were dead in space, floating with just enough power to keep them from getting pulled into a planet's gravitational pull. For now.

A pang pulled at Shepard's chest but she shook her head, looking at Joker and then out the window of the Normandy. "The Normandy's lost, Joker. Going down with the ship won't change anything. Please. Come on. We have to go."

She watched the acceptance of that cross Joker's face and saw the defeat that looked back at her. If she could have let him save their home, she would have. But she would not lose a member of her crew-family to this faceless attacker in the dark.

"Yeah...okay. Help me up." He relented, reaching for her before they both witnessed the enemy ship coming back around. "They're coming around for another attack!" He almost shouted.

Veronica ran down the gangway, watching the beam that cut through what was left of the Normandy and felt her heart sink. No. She wouldn't let it get him too. Darting back to the cockpit she hauled Joker up rather roughly, caring more about his life than breaking his arm.

"Hey! Watch the arm." He half whined and half pleaded as he was hauled up, though he didn't fight her as she half carried him to the escape pod and shoved him inside. He hung onto the inside of the escape pod and started to sit down, half securing himself in as another blast rocked the ship.

Veronica's fingers on the outside of the escape pod came loose and she felt the heat of the blast knock her backwards, towards the cockpit. She managed to catch herself on the wall, grabbing the edge as she heard the ominous buzz of a particle beam ripping through her ship again.

"Commander?" Joker questioned over their intercom, watching her as she looked at the button on the wall and then back at him. He knew what she was about to do a moment before she did it. "Veronica!" He cried out, about to try to stand.

Before he could get up, Veronica slammed her hand down on the button that ejected his escape pod. A sense of relief washed over her. She couldn't get to a pod, but she could survive floating in the void of space for a little while. Hopefully long enough for pick up.

The relief was short lived as another blast knocked her back way from the Normandy's empty hull, and she heard the debris cut something on her suit. At first, it seemed like nothing, but then her breath felt short and in the silence she heard a hiss of air leaking out.

Panic gripped her as she flailed, trying to reach behind her back, to close her hands over the ripped tube and buy herself enough oxygen to see help arrive. She couldn't get enough air. Her throat burned as she jerked around, reach just too short to catch the free ends. She couldn't leave Claire. Not like this. She promised she'd be home... All of her thoughts started to blur together, going gray at the edges and then black. It was so cold, sucking the life out of her bones…

Veronica Shepard passed out and went still as she floated through the emptiness of space.


	5. Chapter 4 - Adrift

Claire knew something was wrong. Veronica hadn't called in weeks, none of her messages were answered, and the news reels had stopped talking about the Normandy. It was like it had vanished. Or the Alliance was hiding something.

She was on the balcony chain smoking her nerves away when she heard the doorbell. Her eyes brightened hopefully, scrambling up to get it. Maybe it was V, hurt and apologetic, with a damaged omnitool and a sling-

"Councillor Anderson?" She blinked at the man on her doorstep, in his dress blues. He was holding a letter, and an MP was with him.

"Claire." The way he said her name bothered her. It was sorrowful, apologetic, and hung onto the single syllable like a comforting embrace.

"What's going on, Anderson? Where's V?" She tried to peer behind him, hoping her sister was hiding.

"I'm sorry, Claire. The Normandy was destroyed… she's missing."

"What do you mean missing?!" The blondes voice rose an octave. "Why aren't you out there looking for her?!"

"I've got teams looking, but we've found the remains of the ship. It was ugly. She might be crashed somewhere, and we've got-"

Claire held up a hand, stopping him. "She's dead. Isn't she?" Her voice went quiet, flat. "Calling her missing is just a formality."

"We don't have a body, Claire. She could be-"

"Stop it, Anderson." She murmured. "She'd have called. I know my sister. Just give me the notification…"

"I'm sorry, Claire." He handed her the letter, noticing how her hand shook and gripped the paper too hard when she took it. "If you need anything, please call me. It's the least I can do, after all she did for humanity."

Claire didn't look up at him, unwilling to let him see the tears in her eyes. "I appreciate it…. But I want my sister back. Even you can't do that." She stepped back inside and shut the door. He heard the lock engage with a hard, final click.

Inside the apartment, Claire sank to the floor holding the letter and sobbing until she retched. Veronica… everything good in the world, everything worth trusting and believing in was floating frozen somewhere in space. She couldn't even bury her…

She cried until she threw up, threw up until there was nothing left, then lay curled up on the floor beside the trash can for hours. Finally she got up, wiping her face in the bathroom.

Veronica wouldn't let her fall apart like this…. She had to make a plan of action. Something…. Anything.

That was too big to contemplate right now. She needed a smaller goal… a drink. Get to the bar, Schatzi. That was as good a goal as any, and she dragged herself out.

The bar was a haze of stale blue smoke and drunk chatter when Claire walked in. She was known here, the other dock rats, smugglers, and mercs nodding as she hurried past. She was in no mood for small talk or standing by while some moron checked out her tits. She wanted to get drunk in peace.

The back table, under a broken light that cast flickering shadows, looked like a safe haven until she got to it. It wasn't until she eased her hips into the booth that she realized there was someone already there. A familiar face, as miserable as hers as he stared at three empty beers.

"Joker?"

He jumped. "Claire! I didn't- I thought you'd be at home…" he looked away too quickly, almost guiltily.

"I couldn't stand it. Anderson came by." She waved down the bar maid for shots of vodka.

"Yeah. He wanted me to come with him…. I couldn't do it." He murmured. "How much did he tell you?"

"That the Normandy is a hunk of scrap, and V didn't turn up with the survivors. She'd have called…. So she must be dead." Her voice sounded dead, and she threw back the shot before the waitress could fully set it down. "Keep them coming, please."

"It was my fault." Joker said quietly. "I thought I could save the ship…. I didn't evacuate in time. Shepard went back to get me, that's why she wasn't in the escape pod. I'm so sorry, Claire…"

The blonde threw back another shot. "I don't blame you, Joker. I know you tried."

"Not enough. And now the Alliance grounded me. It's a desk job or early retirement. I'm the best damn pilot they've got, and they want me pushing papers!" He took a swallow of his beer to stop himself getting too loud. "Your sister believed in me. They don't."

Claire took a deep breath and lay her head on her folded arms. "The Reapers are still out there… aren't they?"

"The Commander thought so."

She nodded. "Let's get plastered. Tomorrow…. Tomorrow I'll think of a plan. I can't right now. My brains just not…. Braining."

"I've still got to get a hotel."

"You can crash with me… I've got a spare room now." She said bitterly, taking another shot. "I'll help you up the stairs."

"Alright." Joker could see the dangerous, dark look in her bright blue eyes. She was stretched thin, barely holding it together and getting drunk. "Thank you, Claire."

"Don't mention it. Ever." She mumbled.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine."

She threw a straw at him. "You'll need that. Suck my ass."

Claire was laying on the floor in the kitchen, eyes closed. She was pretty sure sure she'd died in the last three days of binge drinking, and that this was hell where she'd pay for her sins with the hangover splitting her skull. Was she only wearing a bra and shorts?

Her omnitool was ringing a jaunty tune she didn't remember downloading. Ugh…. No… who was calling?

She opened one aching eye and blinked at the smiling holographic thumbnail of a redhead in dress blues. Veronica….. VERONICA?!

She scrambled up, smashing her hand against the holo. "V! V, my god, did I was s-"

"Hey, Claire-bear! I know, I know, you wanted me home for your birthday. If you're getting this message, it means I was sent on another mission and I'm not in message contact. I'm sorry about that. You know how the military is, and now the Council. Joker helped me hang up on them a few times," she laughed and then sighed. She moved a bit and behind her the holos of her and Claire together could be seen in the background. "But once the message is over, check your bank account. I got you a little something. I don't get to use my money much. Get the ship to get out of the Sol System. Explore. Just please, be safe. You make this job worth it."

Claire's eyes watered, looking at the recording of her sister sitting on the edge of her bed. Veronica looked so vibrant and alive and… Claire's fingers touched a the holo screen, distorting the image. "Happy birthday, Claire. I love you."

"I love you too, V." Claire murmured quietly, saving the video. Her hands shook when she pulled up the bank were two deposits, both marked with messages.

-Happy birthday, shortie! Love V-

-The paperwork went through. This is all of Commander Shepard's remaining assets. Call if you need anything. Councillor Anderson-

Claire blinked. That was a lot of credits… holy shit that was a lot of credits.

She looked around. Joker was asleep on the couch, a beer bottle within arms reach on top of the massive pile of krogan holding a ryncol bottle in each fist.

Arcx hadn't known how to comfort her, so he'd brought over a massive case of liquor and sat down with her on the floor. Judging by the bottles everywhere, she was never getting the memories of this night back.

"Arcx…. Joker…" she lay back on the floor, cool linoleum pulling heat from her skin. "Don't make me yell…. Wake up, assholes."

Arcx grunted and sat up. "Huh? What, did you finally sober up?"

"What day is it?"

"Monday."

She groaned. "Jesus fuck. You came over Friday night.. have I really been drunk for three days?"

Joker was coming awake. "Yeah… you got lost going to your room." He chuckled.

"And told me if you let go of the living room carpet you were going to fly off the earth." Arcx poked her foot.

Claire groaned unhappily. "Damn. We gotta get cleaned up."

"Why?" Arcx raised a plated brow, bright orange eyes curious.

"I smell like the inside of a bottle of cheap vodka."

"It was expensive vodka, and you're not in it. It's in you." Arcx smirked.

"Shaddup you bigass snapping turtle." She muttered. "We're going to the auction at the space port."

"Why?" Joker started balancing empties on Arcx plated head.

"Because if you're going to fly it, I need your input. Arcx, how do you feel about running our own mercenary band?"

The krogans grin was terrifying. "Oh hell yes."


	6. Chapter 5 - Solar Flare

"What are you doing?!" Joker hobbled up to their spot at the dock. Claire was dressed in greasy coveralls, hanging half out of a service port in the brand-new ship, the Sailor V.

"Mounting a ship weapon, tweaking the drive core, putting the lettering on the side…" she popped her head out.

The ship was nice, a small civilian cruiser capable of a maximum crew of about 15. She'd had it painted dark, but the letters in her favorite teal.

"Civilian cruisers aren't supposed to have weaponry." He groaned.

"They're also not supposed to be merc ships. But here we are."

"Merc leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I prefer calling us vigilantes." Joker chuckled.

"Call it what you like. First, we're going to prove ourselves, bust some batarian slavers. Then, we're gonna see about picking up some Corsair missions from the Alliance. And the whole time, we're gonna be looking for stuff on ." She grinned wickedly. "No bosses, no one to stop me. I'm the captain now."

"Whatever you say, Sunshine." He chuckled. "Batarians seem like small fry when you're looking at a Reaper invasion, though."

"I know…" her voice quieted. "I just… I don't know where else to start. Do you have any ideas?"

"I thought you were the captain?"

"I'm asking as a friend, Joker. I've been smuggling weapons and shit for years. Being a hero is a little new."

"In my experience, you get into space and trouble will start finding you."

She nodded. "Go check out the cockpit. I'm almost done here, and then I'm taking Arcx for a supply run. Let me know if there's anything we need."

Joker nodded and hobbled in, taking a look around and trying not to be disconcerted by her banging around. "You did a pretty good job on the eezo core. How'd you optimize it like that on a civilian craft?" He called into a comm link.

"Took the specs and drew up a couple ideas, then sent them to the best engineer I know and asked for ideas."

"Who's that?"

"Tali. It took her awhile to get back to me, but she had a lot on her plate. Apparently, she just got back to the Flotilla. I'd kill to have her aboard, but she's working on something with her dad."

Joker chuckled. "The only thing I'm missing is a cupholder."

"You spill anything in there and you'll be missing a kneecap. Arcx is here, I'm heading out."

"Gotcha. Stay out of trouble."

Claire chuckled. "We're still in dock. How much trouble can I get into?"

Xxxxxxxx

"So, there I am, with no pants on, in an Alliance barracks with a rogue VI on the loose." Claire chuckled. "And of course, I'm thinking there's eight dudes and three girls in there, and only one of me and I'm totally going to have to fuck them all-"

Arcx rolled his eyes. "All because you got busted with illegal weapons mods, you made a deal to fuck the platoon? I'd have taken the jail time."

"Been there, done that. Veronica was not happy to have to bail me out, either."

"What was that one for?"

"Property damage. Blew the garage off a rental place when I was fifteen. But that's not the fun story. Where was I?" She frowned.

"No pants." The krogan laughed.

"Yeah. So, I'm thinking I'm gonna be busy all damn night and miss my drop point, when guess who calls? Veronica, asking me where I am. So, I tell her I'm on the moon, and she flips! She'd been called in to handle the VI. Then she realizes she can see my bra, and someone's Alliance issue boxers. And her voice gets all quiet and mad, like that time my ex-boyfriend threw me into a wall and she found out."

"I remember that. What ever happened to him?" Arcx was looking through food provisions, hungry.

Claire was eying a mock up N7 chest plate, wondering if it was actually worth the credits. "Set him up with a red sand sting. I walked with twelve thousand credits and he went to jail."

"Damn. Finish the story, Claire. I like hearing about your sister. Woman has a quad."

She nodded. "She made me turn the camera, then told all the privates in the barracks who she was and convinced them I was an undercover operative sent to inspect them. Didn't look good that I'd bought them all off with the promise of an damn orgy."

Arcx cackled. "So, they let you go."

"Yeah. They even repaired the busted plasma vent on my little dingy, and then I inspected the engineer and one of the privates quite thoroughly."

"You need a hobby."

"I have a hobby."

"Dick is not a hobby."

She chuckled. "Under blacklight, my little shuttle probably looked like a Rorschach test. You won't have to worry about the V, though. I don't think I'm going to have a lot of time for it." She started stacking shit in the krogens arms. "Hold this."

They walked the docks, Claire handing stuff to her friend. She was leaning against a metal shipping container, looking at a list on her omnitool when she heard a click of a gun. Her spine stiffened, eyes darting up sharply to the left.

She looked down the dark barrel of a handgun, following up an arm, and then to a human face with dark brown eyes and curly dark hair pulled back in a low horsetail. He had a scar on his chin, his front left tooth was gold, and she knew him. He was her ex-boyfriend, Silas.

She had no backup, Arcx out of sight around the other side of the container. She'd be shot before help arrived if she screamed, and she wasn't armed.

The odds never stopped her mouth though. "Who let you out of jail, Silas. I thought red sand smuggling carried more than a year"

"That was a real funny trick you played, Schatzi." Silas had a deep voice and was over a foot taller than her. "Letting me get arrested and walking with all the cash."

"We all have our comedy. Yours is your looks." Claire kept a smirk on her face but was desperately searching for anything to get her hands on that might keep her alive. "Didn't my sister tell you to keep your ugly ass away from me?"

"Heard she got herself spaced. I don't figure there's much left of her to be worried about." His grin was sickening. Claire bit back a volley of angry, "I-can't-murder-you-and-it's-frustrating" tears.

"Get fucked." She hissed.

"I was, in jail for a goddamn year. But that's not half as fucked as you're going to be." He smirked, taking a better stance for the shot. "Tell your sister, fuck her too."

Arcx heard the gunshot and dropped everything he was holding, running back around to where he'd left Claire.

The blonde was on the ground on her back, eyes wide and her whole face from the cheekbones down covered in blood and soaking her black top into an shiny slick. Silas pointed the gun at Arcx, backing up as a crowd of dock workers started arriving.

Claire's fingers wrapped around something cold and heavy as she dragged herself upright. Nothing hurt yet, but her front was hot and wet. It had to be blood and she was pretty sure she'd been shot in the head. That didn't leave a lot of time.

She crawled to her feet, behind Silas as he waved his gun around erratically. Then she swung the crowbar with all her strength, smashing it into the back of his head. The next heavy strike crushed his hand and send the gun flying away while she hit him a third time in the head. Then a fourth, and a fifth.

She dropped to her knees next to a roadkill watermelon rather than a person, light headed now. She was covered in blood, and most of it wasn't even Silas'. It was hard to breathe….

Arcx scooped her up. "Hey. Look at me, you better not die." He could see a lot of human face-insides. "Keep talking Claire. Tell me something. You never shut up before."

"I'm…. Really tired." She muttered. "My hands are cold." She sounded tiny, smaller than she was.

"I'll get you a blanket on the ship. Stay awake."

He ran into the Sailor V and hit the comm link. "Joker, Claire's hurt. Bad…. Kill-human bad."

"Fuck. We don't have any other crew, bring her up here so we can keep an eye on her. I know where to take her."

"You got any medigel up there?" The krogan adjusted his grip on the girl and blood hit the floor with an audible splat.

"No…" Claire mumbled. "That's new flooring."

Arcx set Claire in the empty copilot's seat and leaned it all the way back.

"Jesus Christ. Claire, what the hell happened?"

"I think I fell." She sounded disoriented as Arcx slapped medigel all over her.

"Yeah and fell on a bullet." Arcx snorted. "You got shot."

"Oh yeah…."

"She beat him to death with a crowbar. Not bad, for such a short human."

She closed her eyes. "It really…. Hurts. Am I gonna die?"

"Hush. I'm gonna get you to Dr. Chakwas." Joker looked freaked out. He could see her tongue when her mouth was closed.

"I want Veronica." Claire wheezed, sounding very tired and alone.

Xxxxxxxx

Dr. Chakwas was running her medical center, having your usual run of the mill day, when a soldier knocking. "Dr, there's a civilian ship attempting to dock. They're requesting you and advise it's an emergency."

"Patch me through to their bridge. I'll sort it out." She chuckled.

"Doc! It's Joker, I've got a casualty"

"Of what?"

"Remember Claire? She's been shot. And we can't afford to answer a lot of questions."

"I'll get your docking approved. Do you need help bringing her into the clinic?"

"We've got a krogan."

Ten minutes later, Claire was laid out on a gurney. She was half conscious, and squirmed weakly as Chakwas pulled blood clots that were blocking her breathing. "She's lost a significant part of the nasal mucosa and upper soft palate. This is going to be a difficult reconstruction."

"We've got time. She's the captain." Joker murmured, sitting down.

"I'll be as quick as I can." She tried to reassure him before she took her back for surgery, knowing they would need to work fast to get this taken care of. The Normandy crew had been family, which made Claire family as well. She would do anything for Veronica Shepard when she was alive, so doing the same for her sister now would not be a hardship.

Joker ran his fingers through his short hair and let out a sigh of frustration. Veronica would have skinned him alive for what happened to Claire if she was around. If she could see them now. If she knew what they were planning. Now he had to hope that Chakwas could piece her face back together and that she would be okay. He felt protective of her and he couldn't help it. Not to mention he was pretty sure the Krogan was gonna lose it if something happened to her.

Said Krogan was pacing through the waiting room, grumbling under his breath in a dialect of their language that the translators couldn't translate. He could only imagine what kind of curses were in that dialect that no one wanted to try to make accessible to others.

 _Claire….please be okay. I can't lose another Shepard_. Joker thought to himself and let his head sink into his hands.


	7. Chapter 6 Lazarus

Claire walked out of the shower, toweling her curls. They'd just finished up a mission in the Horsehead Nebula, paid through underground channels to blast a group of batarian slavers into pulp. They'd even managed to free the slaves and had dropped them off safely with an Alliance frigate on its way to Earth. She didn't mind working with the soldiers, but she still flatly refused to entertain the notion of joining them.  
Despite the emails from Anderson.

She glanced in the mirror, eyeing the raw pink scar across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. Chakwas had done her best to put her face back together, but no one walked away from a gunshot without a scar. She liked to tell herself it made her roguish, instead of letting insecurity sink its claws into her spine.  
"I expected you to be taller." Chuckled a voice in the corner.  
Claire hissed, reaching for her hip in reflex. Her pistol wasn't there, of course, but she'd gotten into the habit running merc raids.  
"Who the fuck are you?!"  
A young woman in a white bodysuit, sporting perfect black hair and perfect teeth, was sitting at her desk.

"My name is Miranda."  
"How did you get on my ship?!"  
"Relax, Schatzi. I'm not here to fight."  
Claire narrowed her eyes, hoping she was pulling off Veronicas death stare and not looking like the sun was in her eyes. "What do you want?"  
"I've got a proposition for you."  
"And if I decline?"  
"I walk away, and you never see me again."  
She pondered a moment. "Fine, spill."  
"You've made a name for yourself since you left the Sol system. Fighting the batarians, intercepting a traitor or two, even a few off the record assignments for the human councilor... It also doesn't hurt that you're the famous Commander Shepard's little sister."  
"Your point being?" The roundabout was getting on the blonde's nerves, and quickly.  
"I represent a group that notices talent when we see it. We want you on our side."  
"What group?" Claire demanded, crossing her arms.  
"Cerberus."  
That startled Claire and she laughed, hollow and mirthless. "The terrorist group that my sister fought? Xenophobic, power hungry, shot at my sister Cerberus? Pass. Now get the hell off my ship."  
"Hear me out, Schatzi. You and I both know what your sister said was true. The Reapers are still out in dark space, and the Council is doing nothing. We may be human-centric, but the entire galaxy is at stake. You could finish your sisters mission with the resources at our disposal. Isn't that what she'd want?"  
Claire froze, eyes wide. Miranda's smile widened. Got her.  
"I know she raised you, and that you have the same drive... If different methods. You and Moreau are exactly what we need to put a stop to this. "  
Claire walked to the window, looking out at the stars for a long minute. She'd been trying so hard to live by both her own convictions and what Veronica would think was right...but Cerberus?  
"Have you already talked to Joker?"  
"Yes. He said he wouldn't go without you but seemed interested."  
Claire chewed her lip. "Give me some time to think about it. This is... It's a lot to take in, okay? I haven't found much on the Reapers since Veronica..."  
"I understand. I'll be in touch." Miranda murmured, a smug smirk reflected in the glass Claire was staring out of. "You know, you and your sister both have a fondness for non-human crew mates. I have to admit it seems to be effective."  
The slow click of heels disappeared as Miranda left.  
She waited a long second before hitting the com link. "Joker, I'm coming to the bridge. Put the porn up, we need to talk."  
"Anything you say, Sunshine." The pilot drawled, the sound of something that could have either been a moan or a groan getting cut off as the com link ended.

If he got anything, soda, body fluids, food, spit, anything, in her cockpit she would want to beat him. She was running a legit operation after all. Keeping up a neat appearance was the least she could do so she didn't look like your average merc band. They had higher aspirations. Saving the galaxy aspirations.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everything felt distant. Floaty. It felt disconnected but raw as hell. Floating in emptiness, like floating in space. Like being spaced. The thought slammed her back in her mind a bit too forcefully. She felt her chest tighten and she could swear she saw the galaxy swirling in front of her face. Feel her armor on her back. The hiss of the escaping air from her suit's oxygen tubes. That damn tube. It had been one of her last thoughts, or at least what she had thought were her last thoughts.

But after just a moment thinks cleared. She was sitting in her apartment back on Earth. Joker was chatting with Claire and the two of them were making faces at each other. Her two younger "siblings" that she had practically adopted. But this didn't make sense. There were birthday banners everywhere and she saw Tali sipping at something through a straw and Liara talking her ear off. As she turned around she saw Kaiden and Wrex arguing about what weapons could be used. But where was…

"Shepard, you look a little shock-y," That echo-y deep voice came from behind her and she spun around to see the turian that she had started to care a bit too much for. Relationships with aliens were complicated enough. But the idea of getting past all of the turian and human tensions was a difficult one.

"Garrus…I feel shock-y. The last thing I remember was being on the Normandy," she murmured, met with his confused expression as he looked her over.

"Losing time is never a good thing, Commander. Should we be cutting you off from all the alcohol, Shepard?" He drawled with a deep chuckle, his arms crossing over his chest as he watched the human.

This felt unreal. Right as she was about to say something she felt Claire collide into her from behind, squealing in her ear.

"Thanks for the surprise party, V!" The blonde cheered as she hugged her, and Veronica swung her around to pull her into a tight hug.

"You're welcome. I don't remember throwing it, but you're welcome," she laughed, about to say something more before she heard that god awful metal on metal sounds that she had only heard one other time. Back on the Citadel when they had been fighting Sovereign. Tali looked up towards the window but Claire seemed unfazed by it all. Until there was an explosion right outside the window.

"Commander…" Kaiden murmured, looking out the window before he screamed, and jack knifed to the ground. His skin started to turn grey and soft blue glowing veins started to show up on his body.

"No….that can't," she murmured, backing away and searching for her service pistol. She always brought it on shore leave, even when she wasn't supposed to. But it wasn't anywhere on her. No one had any of their weapons. It was insane. They had to have their weapons. They were all far too cautious to go on shore leave without any kind of protection after that fight.

Kaiden continued to scream and Claire backed away as well, her body trembling as that grey started to move across her skin. Joker screamed on the couch and contorted, the sound of his cracking bones echoing around them. Wrex raged out, charging through the apartment and off of the balcony. Tali sent out a drone to go onto the balcony, the thing attacking the husks below as Liara attempted to fortify the door. Veronica couldn't move. She could hear Garrus trying to get her attention but all she could see was Claire slowly becoming a husk along with Joker and Kaiden. This was an absolute nightmare. And she couldn't speak.

Tali had ignored Joker and was about to pay for it, the now husk like creature ripped tears into her suit and the hiss of the closures in her suit trying to keep a contaminate out could be heard echoing in the now silent apartment. Liara got jumped by Claire and was having her head slammed into the floor and Veronica was still planted in the spot. Unable to reach out to any of her friends. Then she heard a growl besides her and she spun to see Kaiden lunging for her, but Garrus moved in the way.

The husk slammed into Garrus and Garrus slammed into her, all three of them on the floor. The husk version of Kaiden tore and ripped at Garrus, pulling at the male's mandibles and blue blood started to ooze down onto Veronica. Finally finding her voice, she screamed as tears rolled down her cheeks and she thrashed, trying to get out from under Garrus.

"No…No..Garrus, Claire!" She sobbed, feeling like her throat was made of glass.

XXXXXXXX

The red-haired soldier opened her eyes, her eyesight blurry as she looked around. And she could hear voices and see a rather sterile environment.

"There. On the monitor. There's something wrong." A female voice said, sounding concerned as she heard shuffling around and the beeping of machines. What were they? Who was that?

"She's reacting to outside stimuli. Showing an awareness of her surroundings." The voice answered and sounded shocked as well as concerned. "Oh my god, Miranda. I think she's waking up."

Was there a reason she shouldn't be up? She tried to make sense through the haze of it all. She saw a dark-haired woman with perfect skin in the most skin tight white and black body suit she had ever seen. Well, honestly just a little tighter than Claire's normal attire. The woman looked down at her and then glared at another man. The man was darker skinned and seemed to be bald. But his face seemed wrong.

"Damn it, Wilson! She's not ready yet! Give her the sedative," the woman ordered, demanded.

Not ready yet? What was wrong with her? What had happened? Veronica attempted to lift her arm, her heart rate starting to speed up. Where was Garrus? Chakwas? Claire? Joker? Where was her team? And why did it burn to move her arm despite the lack of bandages?

"Shepard. Don't try to move yet. Just lie still. Try to stay calm," the woman crooned as she leaned over her. It was clear that her panic wasn't helping whatever was going on. But she couldn't stop. These were not the people that should be with her if she was hurt.

"Heart rate is still climbing. Brain activity is off the charts." The man listed off, trying to sound clinical but failing. It sounded like he was worried, and Veronica couldn't bring herself to care about him.

No shit she was having a lot of brain activity. Her mind kept flashing back to the Normandy. And the pieces were coming together. She was spaced. She should be dead. Why wasn't she dead? Did she have any of her body really left other than that arm? Her throat burned with the effort it took to attempt to speak but her lips barely moved. Every movement felt like she was dragging a steal bar across the ground.

"Stats are pushing into the red zone. It's not working!" He shouted, and she heard the clicking of heels as Miranda went around her bed and to the other side where the monitor was.

This didn't feel right though. Normally she wasn't this anxious. She was Commander Shephard. Normally she could easily keep calm under pressure. It was a no brainer as far as she was concerned. But this panic kept building and flashes of her crew and that accident kept going off in her head like clockwork.

"Another dose. Now." The woman commanded as Shepard turned her head and saw her staring at another monitor. Was she about to die? She didn't want to. She needed Claire. Needed her crew. Needed her ship. Needed to save them. All of them. Though even as she thought it something cooled her system, her heart rate was starting to slow again, and she felt her mind getting foggy.

"Heart rate dropping. Stats falling back into the normal range," she heard the man say as her eyes felt like heavy metal doors falling closed. It took all of her effort to try and hear what they were saying. This still didn't feel right. "That was too close. We almost lost her." He explained.

Miranda, she was pretty sure that was the woman's name, was standing over her and staring down at her again and she tried to keep consciousness only to feel it starting to feel it slipping through her fingers.

The woman turned her head back towards the man and glared. "I told you that your estimates were off. Run the numbers again." She snapped at him before looking back down at Shepard, an almost kind smile starting to curve her lips as she felt the dark grab her.

Everything felt distant. Floaty. It felt disconnected but raw as hell. Floating in emptiness, like floating in space. Like being spaced. The thought slammed her back in her mind a bit too forcefully. She felt her chest tighten and she could swear she saw the galaxy swirling in front of her face. Feel her armor on her back. The hiss of the escaping air from her suit's oxygen tubes. That damn tube.

XXXX

Miranda watched as the woman fell unconscious again and picked up the two personnel files she had dropped when that madness had started. Joker and Claire had signed on and were getting processed. Hopefully they could keep Project Lazarus live and get what they wanted out of all of them.


	8. Chapter 7 - Return to Duty

[Characters are still the property of Bioware. Only Veronica and Claire belong to me and my co-author. Enjoy the show, guys!]

All of the mechs that had been on Freedom's Progress had been a pain in her ass. There had been too many of them that had been activated but she was more than happy to have seen Tali. But...the idea that she had been gone for two years still bothered Veronica. It was maddening to think that everyone in the galaxy thought she was gone. That she had been gone. That her heart had stopped and her brain had died. How had they even gotten this accomplished? But now all she could do was take all of her guns off and go back to that hologram room to talk to that smug bastard that had brought her back from the dead. And ended the never ending loop of the nightmares.

"Shepard, good work on Freedom's Progress," The voice drawled as the two holograms loaded so that they could see each other. "The quarians forwarded the findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but it's a surprising olive branch, given our history. You and I have different methods. But I can't argue the results," the Illusive Man conceded as he took another drag from his cigarette.

"Ever think about playing nice sometime? Having friends is a benefit." Veronica drawled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Diplomacy is great when it works, but difficult when everyone already perceives you as a threat." The man snapped as he watched her through the hologram, his eyes glowing as he took another slow drag. Clearly he had a smoking problem. "But more importantly, you confirmed that the Collectors are behind the abductions."

"Why do I feel like you knew about them already and thought they were involved?" Shepard accused, keeping her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him. She hated Cerberus for what they did to her on Akuze. For what they did to those colonists. The idea of working with them made her skin crawl.

As the Illusive Man breathed out he shrugged. "I had my suspicions. Now I have proof. The Collector's are enigmatic at best. They periodically travel to the Terminus Systems, looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for technology. When their transactions are complete they disappear through the unmapped Omega 4 Relay. Until now we've had no indication of outright hostility from them. Now we do," he concluded with that smug smile. Bastard.

"You're holding something back. How do you know the Reapers are involved? I've never heard of them being related to the Collector's," she murmured, narrowing her eyes at the hologram projection.

"The patterns are there in the data. The Alliance and the Council want to believe that the threat died with Sovereign. We both know better. I won't wait until the reapers are on the march. We need to take the fight to them before they're on our doorstep," he stated as he took another drag. Clearly he had a nicotine problem.

"If this is the start of a war, I'm going to need an army. Or one hell of a good team." She murmured, already making a mental roster of who all she wanted to be a part of her team. Her team.

The Illusive Man grinned and pulled up his own screen on his side. "I've already got a list of soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries. You'll get dossiers on the best of them. Finding them and convincing them to work with you might prove difficult, but you're a natural leader. You'll get the job done. I'll continue to track the collector's while you track everyone down. When they make their next appearance, I'll notify you and your team. Be ready."

The command got under Shepard's skin. She got to work on her own without influence under the Council. She worked with people she understood when she was in the Alliance. Now he was wanting her to work with unknown mercenaries to get his goals done. This was unacceptable.

"Keep your list. I have a team. I want people I trust. The same team that I took down Saren with," she said firmly, no room to budge on it. She needed them. "Garrus Vakarian. Urdnot Wrex. Liara T'Soni. Tali Zorah. Kaiden Alenko is optional," she half joked as she listed off the team she needed with her, prepared to walk out of the room to make contact if necessary.

"That was two years ago Commander. They all have other things going on. Alenko's file is surprisingly well classified. Liara T'Soni seems to be working for the Shadow Broker. And if she is we can't trust her. I need more intel on Tali Zorah before I'll commit to that. Vakarian disappeared a few months after you were pronounced dead and Wrex hasn't left Tuchanka in over a year. Trying to unite the clans." He rattled off, ticking off the names on his finger with a rather self satisfied expression.

"Fine. They're not available," she sighed and ran a hand through her shoulder length red hair. She could feel an ache in her chest. Her family, her crew, that she had cultivated over the course of a year and a half had all gone their separate ways. It broke her heart a little bit.

The Illusive Man looked almost sympathetic as he looked at her through the holoscreen. "You're a leader, Shepard. You'll get who you need. You'll be ready."

"You worry about the Collector's. I'll get the team ready." She murmured, about to turn to leave again.

"Good. Two things before you go. Go to Omega and get the Doctor, Mordin Solus. He has research to go after the Collectors and can disable the Seeker swarms. He'll be useful."

The constant being told what to do was grating on her nerves. She needed to get this started. Who knew how close the Collectors had come to bringing the Reapers here? "Noted. The other thing?"

"I got you a pilot I think you're going to like. I hear he's the best. Someone you can trust," He said as he signed off and that smug smile stayed on his face.

Before she could make a frustrated noise she just shook her head and turned around, seeing Joker right behind her. He had grown more facial hair while she had been gone, had put on a little extra weight. Likely since he didn't have to adhere to Alliance weight standards anymore. But it was him. Jeff "Joker" Moreau.

"Joker?" She questioned before she darted forward, almost forgetting to be careful as she hugged him.

The flight lieutenant laughed and hugged her back gently, carefully. "Hey, V. It's….it's good to see you." He sounded slightly choked up but then cleared his throat and pulled away from her. "Just like old times, huh? I mean before all the aliens on the ship."

Veronica actually laughed and had to fight back her own tears. This was the man that she had tried so hard to save, and he was okay. He was standing there. Living and breathing. They went up the stairs together, walking side by side and she felt the urge to cry. "I can't believe it's really you, Joker. You're okay."

"Look who's talking. I saw you get spaced," he countered, carefully hobbling along and Veronica stayed behind him, letting him set the pace.

"Apparently I got lucky, with far too many strings attached for my liking. What are you doing here? I thought you would be the last one to sign up with Cerberus. Especially since those creepers nearly ruined our ship." She joked, watching as he laughed a bit more at that.

"Well, things change. It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up? The Council just wanted it gone." He sighed as the finished climbing the stairs and went down a different hallway. Where was Joker leading her? "The team was broken up. Records sealed. And I was grounded. They wouldn't let me fly. The Alliance took away the one thing that mattered to me, hell yeah I joined Cerberus."

They stopped at a large observation deck. It was dark back there, but she trusted Joker. He wouldn't have led her to this area if it had been dangerous. "Do you trust them, though? After everything they've done how can we?"

Joker started to grin and looked at his Commander from the corner of his eyes. "I don't trust anyone that makes more than I do. But they're not all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly. And they did this…." he trailed off as the lights in the observation room started to come on.

The ship that was illuminated and she felt her breath catch in her throat. While it was not the same Normandy as the one that was destroyed, it was so similar that she could imagine that Garrus was down with the Mako and that Wrex was modifying a shotgun. That Tali was fooling around in engineering and that Liara was in the medbay with Chakwas. Her family. Her home. If she had at least one back she could recover. Rebuild. But Gods above she wished she had both.

"They only told me last night," He admitted as they moved to the elevator to go down to the ship, V still looking over her shoulder to look at it every so often. "Just like they only told me about you last night. Which was damn frustrating by the way."

Veronica only laughed even though she wanted to cry. They went down the elevator and started across the bridge to the ship. "We'll have to give her a name. How about a simple Normandy SR-2?" She offered and Joker simply nodded his head in agreement. They had both missed their ship.

"If they didn't tell you about me, then I'll need to let everyone that matters know." Veronica blanched. "Oh god, Claire's got to be worried sick. I'll call her right now-"

"Way ahead of you, Commander." Joker got situated into his seat and flipped on a camera labeled "Gunnery Lab".

A young woman in a black bodysuit with a keyhole cut out to reveal cleavage was laying out equipment on a work table. Veronica would know that puff of curls anywhere, though she only saw the top of her head.

"You let my little sister join Cerberus!?" Shepard snapped, looking at her flight lieutenant with a glare that could have frozen over an ocean.

"In my defense, you don't let her do anything. You just get out of her way." Joker chuckled nervously and continued to explain. "She's the gunnery sergeant, and she's been out in a few of the empty colonies looking for clues. She's good at this."

"Get her up here." Veronica sighed. Claire joining a terrorist group…. This somehow shouldn't surprise her. But it did concern her. Veronica knew that after this mission she'd be turning herself in to the Alliance and taking whatever punishment they dished out. Now she'd have to figure out a way to keep Claire free of the charge of terrorism.

Joker hit the com link. "Hey Sunshine, get up to the bridge. I want to show you something."

"It better not be porn." Hearing Claire's voice was a strange relief. They'd be together…. Which might be dangerous, but not nearly so lonely. Her two adoptive siblings, because if she was honest then Joker was as much her sibling as Claire was.

"How often is that an issue?" Veronica gave Joker a look as he turned off the com, a mix of of amusement and disapproval. The last thing she needed was to hear moans as she walked up to the cockpit.

"It happened one time! She needs to learn to knock and wait for an answer, instead of opening the door!" He complained with a shake of his head.

Veronica chuckled, climbing into the co-pilots seat. "Shh. I want to surprise her." She murmured as she paused and then started to access her old emails. No one had discontinued them, so she was able to pull up a lot of her old clips and holos of her friends and family. There were some rather goofy ones from that party right after the Battle of the Citadel.

A few minutes later, the click of heels sounded coming in. "You weren't kidding, Joker. It's amazing… almost just like the vids V used to send me." Claire smiled, standing in the doorway.

"Isn't it though? And leather seats." He grinned. "Just you wait and watch me make this baby dance."

"So who's the new commander. They better not suck, because I've got no problem with a hostile takeover." Claire boasted as she cracked her knuckles and grinned at her friend, prepared to make sure the ship did her sister justice.

"That would be me." Veronica grinned, expecting a happy squeak as she glanced out of the corner of her eyes.

Instead, Claire's jaw tightened, eyes still on Joker. "Who the fuck is using a Veronica Shepard voice mod, because I swear to fuck I will through you out the goddamn airlock!"

Veronica turned her chair around with a look of shock. "They made a voice mod of me?"

Claire spun around and stopped hard, eyes going wide. There was a dead silent pause for a beat, then she was airborne, launching herself into the commanders arms like a varren pup. "V!"

Veronica winced as she caught her sister, carefully holding her in her arms. "Easy, kiddo. I'm still not totally healed."

Claire pulled back, hands up like she wanted to soothe her but was afraid to make it worse. She finally settled on leaning back in gently and hugging, sitting in her sisters lap. "You're alive!" She choked. "I thought I'd never see you again…"

Veronica hugged her back. "I'm here now. It's okay." She chuckled. Then she blinked, pulling back and catching Claire by the chin. "What happened to your face?!" She turned the blonde left and right, examining the scar and sizeable divet missing from the bridge of Claire's nose.

"Oh nothing…" she tried to divert with a sweet smile.

"She got shot in the face." Joker grinned, attempting not to laugh as Veronica stared between the two of them, unsure of who she should be shouting at.

"Shut up, Joker." Claire grumbled as she fidgeted in Veronica's lap, starting to move to stand.. "It's nothing to worry about, really. I took care of it."

"Who did it?" Veronica nearly growled as she looked between the two of them, clearly plotting a murder.

"You remember Silas?" Claire started, hedging around the answer just a bit.

"I knew I should have shot him rather than just threatening him. I'll get his ass thrown back in jail so fast…" Veronica answered, about to start typing things into the console in front of her.

"You'd need a Ouija board. Claire beat him to death with a crow bar." Joker laughed with a grin, watching his two favorite people in the galaxy go back and forth like this. Being this protective was so much the Commander that if he hadn't been convinced it was her before he was now. But the shocked look on Veronica's face was priceless. It made him wish he could risk taking a picture of it without fearing some kind of reprisal from the red head.

Claire smiled sheepishly at her sister and shrugged her shoulders like they were talking about a grocery list. "I took care of it, like I said."

Veronica sighed and lightly rubbed at her temples with a slight smile. "This is what happens when I leave you alone."

"Where have you been, anyway?" Claire demanded, almost sounding hurt that she wasn't the first to know about her sister being alive.

"Dead, apparently. They said they rebuilt me," Veronica explained and almost shuddered. It almost explained the nightmares. Almost. And she didn't plan on talking about those.

Claire sighed. She couldn't really be mad at that. "How come nobody told me…?" She sounded a little heartbroken. "A little hope wouldn't have been so bad."

"Take it up with Miranda. She was in charge of the project." Veronica chuckled and started to grin more as Claire nearly twitched. Oh, so she knew this Miranda. And apparently had been around couldn't wait to see the fireworks from this.

Claire's eyes hardened again. "I'll knock her perfect teeth out of her perfect head!"


End file.
